Rising 3L Kara Tappan Named a Ms. JD Fellow

Catholic University law school student Kara Tappan is among 17 law students to be awarded Fellowships by Ms. JD, an organization dedicated to promoting mentoring and professional development for future female attorneys.

According to its statement, “Fellows were selected based on their academic performance, leadership, and dedication to advancing the status of women in the profession. The winners reflect a full range of diverse interests and backgrounds, with women pursuing opportunities in public interest, academia, and private sector in every region of the country.”

In addition to receiving financial support and invitations to ABA and Ms. JD events, each Fellowship winner is being paired with a mentor.

Tappan, a rising third-year student at the Columbus School of Law, serves as a teaching assistant for Professor Megan La Belle’s civil procedure class, and as a Note & Comment Editor on the Catholic University Law Review.

After her 1L year, Tappan interned with Judge Catharine F. Easterly on the D.C. Court of Appeals, and during her 2L year with Judge Sally D. Adkins on the Maryland Court of Appeals. She is currently a summer associate at Norton Rose Fulbright in Washington, D.C., and is interested in pursuing appellate advocacy and litigation.

Founded in 2006, Ms. JD is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to the success of aspiring and early career women lawyers. The group provides a forum for dialogue and networking among women lawyers and law students.

Much of Ms. JD’s focus is on the underrepresentation of women in the legal profession. Women make up just a third of all tenured law professors, constitute 22% of the federal judiciary, and hold only 26% of state court judgeships.